In the "The Buddha's Sutra on the Ten Good Deeds", the Buddha told the Dragon King: "If you are free from greed, you will achieve five kinds of freedom." The so-called freedom means that everything you want is fulfilled and you have no worries.

life bewitched by greed

How can you be happy

life bound by desire

How to talk about freedom

How to talk about freedom

" Buddha Talks the Ten Good Deeds ", Buddha tells the Dragon King: "If you leave greed, you will achieve five kinds of freedom."

The so-called freedom means that everything you want is fulfilled and you have no worries. Usually, the happiness people seek is based on desire. When desires are satisfied, you feel happy; when you are not satisfied, you feel lost and painful. This is a life that is bound by desire and cannot be free. So, what are the five kinds of freedom?

"One, the three karmas are free, and all the senses are complete."

3 three karmas , which is the body karma, oral karma, and mental karma. All the senses are the six senses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. If you are free from greed, you will have a pure and healthy body and mind, making the three karmas free and unobstructed. In this way, you can feel the rewards that are complete to all the senses.

"2. Free property, and all enemies cannot be taken away."

All enemies refer to five natural disasters and man-made disasters, namely floods, fires, thieves, unworthy descendants, and kings. If you are free from greed, be kind and generous, and plant a lot of blessings, you will attract countless wealth in the future and will not be taken away or damaged by enemies or creditors.

"Three, blessings and virtues are free, and everything you want."

If you are free from greed and diligent in giving, you can get the good rewards of blessings and virtues and freedoms. You can get whatever you want. Blessings include many aspects. " Shangshu " summarizes them into five blessings: "One is longevity, two is wealth, three is health, four is good virtue, and five is test for the end of life." From the perspective of Buddhist practice, blessings have other connotations, such as having time to practice, no need to worry about making a living, and having good knowledge to guide them.

"Fourth, the throne is free, and all the rare and wonderful things are dedicated."

If you are free from greed, you can also get the throne and high officials and receive various exquisite tributes from the princes, local officials, and neighboring countries.

"5. What you get is a hundred times more special than what you want, because you were not jealous in the past."

If you are free from greed, you will be able to achieve everything in the future, and everything you get is far more than what you want. I only want to make 100 yuan, but I end up making 1,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan or even more. If we want to live happily and freely, we must have blessings. Where does blessing come from? Only rely on your own cultivation. On the road to human and heaven, cultivating blessings is the first priority.

There are many practitioners who only value cultivation but are not willing to cultivate blessings. They only care about chanting Buddha's name and meditating all day long, and are unwilling to spend time doing any altruism. If you fail to achieve rebirth in the Western Paradise in this life, your future practice conditions will be greatly affected.

There is a saying in Buddhism: "Cultivating wisdom does not cultivate blessings, Arhat holds an empty bowl; cultivating blessings does not cultivate wisdom, incense is hung on garlands ."

said that in the past, two brothers practiced together, one focused on cultivating wisdom and the other focused on cultivating blessings. The person who practiced wisdom continued to practice in the next life and attained the Arhat fruit, but no one offered him. When begging for food, he often returned in an empty bowl and was hungry and frozen. The person who did not cultivate wisdom fell into the animal realm in the next life, but because he cultivated many blessings in the causal land, he became the king's mount, covered with pearls, agate and other gems.

This story tells us that on the road of cultivation, we must cultivate both blessings and wisdom, and we should not focus on one side. Especially when we are studying Mahayana Buddhism now, we should start with the lack of self, develop bodhicitta, develop great compassion, and improve ourselves in the process of benefiting others.

The above five items are the consequences of not being greedy. If you can dedicate your virtues of not being greedy to the supreme Buddhahood, and when you finally become a Buddha, you will be respected by sentient beings in the three realms.

Excerpted from: "The Principles of Happy Life "

Copyright: Jiqun Master

If you need to reprint, please be sure to leave a message